Concordville, PA, (October 22, 2012) – The Pennsylvania Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Association and State Farm Insurance will demonstrate the impaired driving Safety SIMulator this Monday, October 22 at Eastern York High School. The Safety SIMulator will be at the high school from 8:30 am to 2:00pm.
The Safety SIM is a virtual driving experience that allows students to sit in a real car “cockpit” with working instruments and a three-screen, 120° view. The Safety SIM creates impaired driving scenarios in which the driver or other vehicles on the road are being operated by someone under the influence. The system operator can take the driver through a selection of hundreds of different driving scenarios. This risk free setting allows drivers to gain a better understanding of the risks associated with impaired driving.
With its real dashboard, steering wheel and driver’s seat, the Safety SIM provides realistic, hands-on experience. The lessons in safe driving and the effects of impairment learned by a teen’s experience with the Safety SIM will have a positive impact upon the participants future decisions-and help prevent risky behaviors, hopefully saving lives.
“The Safety SIMulator is an educational tool that can help shape a safe future for our youth,” says State Farm Agent Bonnie Stambaugh of Wrightsvillle. “Vehicle crashes are more common among young drivers than any other age group. One in four crash fatalities in the United States involve a 16- to 24-year-old driver. State Farm, along with our partners at PA DUI, is working hard to change these alarming statistics.”
Lessons learned from a teen’s experience with the Safety SIMulator are likely to have a positive impact upon the participant’s future decisions – and help prevent risky behavior, hopefully saving lives.
“Whether we have a teen driver in our family or not, we should all care about this issue”, adds Stambaugh. “When most people think about those affected by teen driver crashes, they think of the teens behind the wheel. We must also consider the significant impact of these crashes on other members of our communities: occupants of other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and other road-users.”
A 2011 national research report from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and State Farm shows that the impact of teen driver crashes extends far beyond teen drivers’ families and friends. In 2008, more than half a million (681,000) people were involved in crashes where a teen driver was behind the wheel. More than 40,000 were injured, and nearly 30 percent of those who died in these crashes were not in cars driven by teens.
For more information on teen driver safety, visit http://teendriving.statefarm.com/ or http://www.teendriversource.org/.
Dave Phillips, State Farm Public Affairs, (610) 358-7667
State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 17,800 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts - more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 43 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com or in Canada http://www.statefarm.ca.
